Aitor Karanka has set tongues wagging after a cryptic social media post.

The former Middlesbrough boss is on a shortlist of managers the Sunderland hierarchy are considering to replace sacked Simon Grayson at the Stadium of Light.

And on Wednesday evening Karanka had people talking after posting a picture to his Twitter account of himself looking at a departure board in what appears to be Kings Cross train station with the caption: “Next stop...”.

It was accompanied by an emoji of a thinking face.

The post has people speculating that Karanka could be on his way to Wearside to hold talks over the vacant manager’s post.

Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain has this week stepped up his attempts to find the Black Cats’ next manager, with Karanka believed to be on his shortlist.

It is thought the Spaniard would be interested too, having fallen in the love with the North East during his tenure at Middlesbrough.

Former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka (Image: PA Wire)

During that time Karanka was able to guide the Teessiders back to the Premier League but only after being backed by a significant amount of money which is unlikely to be available at the Stadium of Light. Whether that proves a stumbling block remains to be seen.

Karanka was sacked from his post at the Riverside in March after no wins since the turn of the year. Boro were three points from safety and would ultimately be relegated along with Sunderland.